2024 NFL playoffs: Andy Reid, Sean McVay ranked as best coaches. Who else made the list?
Starting today, 14 NFL teams are playing for a chance at winning Super Bowl LVIII. Seven teams in the AFC and seven in the NFC represent the best on the field during the regular season.
Only two playoff teams have coaches making their postseason debut: the Houston Texans' first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans in the AFC and the Detroit Lions' third-year head coach Dan Campbell. The 12 other teams have coaches with at least one appearance in the playoffs.
But who are the top coaches in the NFL playoffs? Here's how they rank against each other ahead of wild card weekend games:
1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
This postseason is the first time since the 2017-18 playoffs that the Chiefs are not one of the top two seeds in the AFC. That means two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes could play in his first career road playoff game (Super Bowls notwithstanding) this season. But no coach can match Reid's playoff success over the last four years. Three Super Bowl appearances, two titles, and a 10-2 postseason record over that span. The 2023 Chiefs offense is the second-lowest scoring group of Reid's 11-year tenure in Kansas City. But if there's a coach who game up a playoff win, it's Reid.
2. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
After a down year in 2022 following their Super Bowl win, McVay and the Rams are back in the postseason behind a much improved offense. Quarterback Matthew Stafford and company averaged nearly 400 yards per game after the Rams' Week 10 bye to surge to a 10-7 finish. McVay's one of just four head coaches in the playoffs with multiple Super Bowl appearances under his belt. The defense is below league-average in points and yards allowed but, with how well the offense is firing, doesn't need to overachieve for the team to win games. The Rams are arguably the hottest team in the league with a Super Bowl-winning coach at the helm.
3. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
It's been 11 years since Harbaugh and the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII and in that time Harbaugh's gone 2-5 in the postseason. In 2019, quarterback Lamar Jackson won MVP honors and led the team to a 14-2 regular season record but they lost to the Tennessee Titans in their playoff opener in the divisional round. Jackson will likely win MVP again this year and the Ravens are the top seed, reminding fans about a repeat of the 2019 disappointment. Harbaugh's not shy about how things went wrong that postseason and he's made key staff changes that've paid huge dividends since then. This is a 13-win team with a Super Bowl-winning coach at the helm. No other team can claim that this postseason.
4. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have made the NFC championship game in three of the past four seasons, winning one of them. This year, the offense featured an MVP contender at quarterback in Brock Purdy and the NFL's leading rusher at running back in Christian McCaffrey. A Christmas drubbing to the Ravens aside, this may be Shanahan's best season in San Francisco. The 49ers led the league in Pro Bowl players and Shanahan has all the tools he needs to put his Super Bowl disappointments - Falcons fans need little reminder of Super Bowl LI - behind him.
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5. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Is Stefanski a bit high ahead on this list with just one playoff win? Maybe, but he's rightfully a Coach of the Year favorite this season as the Browns won 11 games with five different starting quarterbacks. Joe Flacco is playing some of his best football despite playing behind an offensive line hit with multiple injuries. Star running back Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 to put the team behind at the start. Stefanski's done a tremendous job getting the Browns to the playoffs and giving Cleveland its best four-year run of success since Marty Schottenheimer's final years in the late 1980s. No one would be surprised if this team made at least the divisional round in the AFC.
6. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Like McVay in Los Angeles, LaFleur and the Packers' offense got hot in the final weeks of the season. The roster is full of young talent on offense - four of the Packers' top five players in catches during the regular season are rookies - but that talent's putting it together ahead of the biggest game of their early careers. Though the defense has been inconsistent in 2023, Green Bay's offense makes them a potentially dangerous matchup for teams in the NFC. LaFluer's made two conference championship games in the last four years, though he did lose both and the most recent came in the 2020-21 season.
7. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
Tomlin's one of just three coaches on this list with multiple Super Bowl appearances. Since that last appearance in the title game in 2010, Tomlin's gone 3-7 in the postseason. He deserves lots of credit for never finishing below 0.500 in his 17 seasons in Pittsburgh, especially this season with three different starting quarterbacks. But defensive end Cameron Heyward, the oldest player on the Steelers' roster, is the only player on the current roster who played in Tomlin's last postseason victory in the 2016-17 season. The recent playoff success isn't there to push him higher up these rankings.
8. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills
McDermott's four playoff wins in the last three years is only behind Reid (seven), McVay (five) and Cincinnati's Zac Taylor (five). The Bills won five straight to close 2023 and take their fourth straight AFC East title. He deserves credit for that and, as the defensive playcaller, pushing the Bills' defense to the top 10 rankings in points and yards allowed per game. This comes despite season-ending injuries to key players like linebacker Matt Milano in Week 5 and cornerback Tre'Davious White in Week 4. Buffalo hasn't made it past the AFC divisional round since 2020. Until they can make the conference championship again, McDermott won't get much higher on these rankings.
9. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia started 2023 strong after a run to Super Bowl LVII last season and finished one game behind the Cowboys for the NFC East title. But it's hard to ignore the Eagles dropping five of their last six games, punctuated by a loss to the Arizona Cardinals at home. The Eagles' offense went from third in the league in scoring in 2022 down to seventh in 2023; Philadelphia's defense dropped from eighth in points allowed to 30th. Sirianni will have to win his first road playoff game for them to advance past the wild card round. It'd also be the franchise's first road playoff win since 2019.
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10. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Campbell's in the postseason for the first time as a head coach but got here in convincing fashion. If it weren't for a controversial end to the Lions' game against the Cowboys in Week 17, the Lions could've been the first or second seed in the NFC. He's built the team up from a 3-13-1 year in 2021 to Detroit's first 12-win team since 1991. The last time the Lions won a division title, quarterback Jared Goff wasn't even born yet. If Campbell can get a win against McVay and the Rams in the wild card round, that'll be a huge statement against a Super Bowl-winning team as well as the first Lions postseason win in 33 years.
11. Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys
McCarthy's the lowest-ranked Super Bowl winner on this list but it's hard to put him higher given his reputation for poor playoff performances, like blowing a 16-0 lead in the 2015 NFC Championship Game and getting blown out in the 2017 NFC Championship Game. This year, the Cowboys are one of three teams with a top-five scoring offense and defense in the league but had major letdowns on the road, with big losses to Buffalo and San Francisco. McCarthy's 1-2 in the postseason since taking over in Dallas in 2020. A win against the team he won a title with in 2010 would go a long way towards improving his reputation.
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12. Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
McDaniel's in just his second season with the Dolphins but Miami just wrapped up their second-highest scoring season in franchise history, trailing only the 1984 Dolphins squad. They're facing a daunting task in subzero temperatures in Kansas City Saturday against one of the most playoff-tested teams in the AFC. McDaniel's had great success on offense but the team as a whole struggled against top teams this year. Miami won just one game against a team that finished the regular season above 0.500.
13. DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
Ryans is farther down the list because there's so many unknowns. Yes, he's led an incredible turnaround in Houston from 3-13-1 last year to 10-7 and an AFC South title this year. But how will he handle the playoff spotlight? Can the Texans compete on the biggest stage so early in Ryans' tenure after four years of instability? We'll learn a lot about Ryans over the next 24 hours. For now, he's a good coach building up a contender in Houston.
14. Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers won five of their last six games to clinch Bowles' first-ever division title. Monday night will be just the second playoff game of his career; Bowles' first did not end well as the Tampa Bay was blown out 31-14 at home by the Cowboys. The Buccaneers' defense crept into the top 10 league-wide in points allowed but Tampa Bay struggled with consistency week-to-week in 2023. He's a good coach but the weakest in the playoff field as it stands before the wild card round.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2024 NFL playoffs: Reid, McVay, Harbaugh, more ranked as best coaches
